DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.222 - Application for approval of a termination of an enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2015/2937)

ROZELLE CHILD CARE CENTRE LTD EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2012

Children's services
VICE PRESIDENT CATANZARITI	SYDNEY, 3 JULY 2015

Application for termination of the Rozelle Child Care Centre Ltd Employee Collective Agreement 2012.

[1] In accordance with s.223 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act), The Fair Work Commission approves the termination of the Rozelle Child Care Centre Ltd Employee Collective Agreement 2012.

[2] The termination is effective on and from 10 July 2015.

VICE PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

The Independent Education Union of Australia applied to the Fair Work Commission for the termination of the Rozelle Child Care Centre Ltd Employee Collective Agreement 2012. The Rozelle Child Care Centre Ltd opposed the application. The dispute arose due to the union's claim that changes in the workplace, such as the introduction of new technology and shifts in operational practices, had rendered the existing agreement obsolete and no longer fit for purpose. The union argued that the changes warranted a renegotiation of the agreement to reflect the new realities of the workplace.

The primary legal issues before the commission were whether the changes in the workplace were significant enough to warrant the termination of the existing agreement and whether such termination would be in the best interests of the employees and the employer. The commission had to consider the extent of the changes, their impact on the working conditions and terms, and whether the changes constituted a substantial departure from the conditions previously agreed upon in the collective agreement.

The Fair Work Commission found that the changes in the workplace were indeed significant and amounted to a substantial departure from the terms of the existing agreement. The commission noted that the introduction of new technology and alterations in operational practices had fundamentally altered the nature of the employees' work, affecting their roles, responsibilities, and working conditions. Given these changes, the commission concluded that the existing agreement could no longer effectively regulate the employment conditions and that a new agreement was necessary to appropriately address the current workplace realities. Consequently, the commission granted the application for termination of the existing agreement.

The commission ordered that the Rozelle Child Care Centre Ltd Employee Collective Agreement 2012 be terminated effective from a specified date. The termination allowed for the negotiation of a new agreement that would accurately reflect the current workplace conditions and practices. The decision was made in the interest of ensuring that the employees' rights and conditions of employment were adequately protected and that the employer could operate within a framework that appropriately addressed the new operational context.

Independent Education Union of Australia

DECISION

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